There are many types of wet wipes or wipes intended for wet wiping available on the market. Such wipes include baby wipes, make-up removal wipes, wet toilet paper and wipes for other cleaning purposes. With a wet wipe is meant a wipe that is delivered to the user in a pre-moist state, usually in a sealed package containing one or more wipes. Such wipes are discarded after a single use. Other wipes are delivered in a dry state but are soaked in liquid before being used for wiping.
A commonly used substrate for wet wipes and wipes for wet wiping is a hydroentangled nonwoven material which is chosen for being softer, stronger and more textile-like than alternative materials such as airlaid and wet laid nonwovens. A standard hydroentangled material is a blend of 70/30 percent by weight of viscose and polyester but other materials have been used such as cellulose pulp/polyester blends or pure cotton fibres.
A problem with the existing wipes is that in order to be economical in use and provide adequate wiping for a long period of time, they have to have a high initial load of liquid. However, this makes them soaking wet and leads to an excessively high release of liquid in the initial wiping phase and quickly decreasing wiping performance as the liquid content decreases and the wipe becomes depleted of liquid. Moreover, the very wet wipes are unpleasant to touch and handle and it is not uncommon that liquid is inadvertently pressed or squeezed out of the wipe at a higher rate than desired, particularly in the initial phase of the wiping operation. Due to the uneven distribution of wiping liquid over the wiped surface, the existing wipes often provide an unsatisfactory wiping result. In addition, the wipes have to be reloaded with liquid or replaced with a fresh wet wipe more frequently than desired.
Hence, there exists a need for an improved wipe for wet wiping. Moreover, there exists a need for a method for producing such a wiping material.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a wet wipe or a wipe for wet wiping exhibiting a more uniform release of liquid over time than previously known wipes. It is also an object of the invention to provide a wet wipe or a wipe for wet wiping that can provide a satisfactory wiping result during a longer time period than the previously known wipes. Moreover, it is an object of the invention to provide a simple and efficient method for producing the improved wipe.